IRVINE, Calif. – April 27, 2009 – Foreclosure filings were reported on 2,225 New Hampshire properties in the first quarter of 2009, a 4 percent increase from the previous quarter, and 24 percent above the level reported for Q1 2008, according to the latest RealtyTrac® U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.

New Hampshire reported 824 properties with foreclosure filings in March, a 12 percent increase from the previous month and 99 percent above its March 2008 total.

“Foreclosure activity rose slightly in New Hampshire in the first quarter of 2009 and remains well above the level reported for the same time last year,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Unemployment and bankruptcy filings remain high, as many out-of-work residents look to the proposed economic stimulus package to bring new jobs to the state.”

New Hampshire ranked 33rd in the country in total properties with foreclosure filings for the quarter. One in every 267 New Hampshire housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month, the 19th highest state foreclosure rate in the nation.

Hillsborough County the single largest contributor to state total for the quarter

Hillsborough County led the state reporting 707 properties with foreclosure filings. Rockingham County was second, reporting 502 properties with foreclosure filings for the quarter. Merrimack County was in third, reporting 203 properties with foreclosure filings. Strafford County registered the fourth highest total, documenting 194 properties with foreclosure filings.

Belknap County posts state’s top foreclosure rate in the state for first quarter

BelknapCounty led the state, with one in every 224 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing. Hillsborough County came in second, with one in every 229 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing. CoosCounty posted the third highest foreclosure rate, where one in every 240 housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month.

State a minor contributor to nation’s foreclosure total for Q1 2009

New Hampshire accounted for less than 1 percent of the 803,489 properties with foreclosure filings reported nationwide for the first quarter of 2009. The national total represented a 9 percent increase in activity from the previous quarter and was almost 24 percent ahead of the total reported for Q1 2008. One in every 159 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter.

Report methodology

The RealtyTrac Monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides a count of the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing reported during the quarter — broken out by type of filing at the county, state and national level. RealtyTrac’s report incorporates documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: Default— Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction— Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank). If more than one foreclosure document is filed against a property during the quarter — which is extremely rare — only the most recent filing is counted in the report.

For current news and information regarding foreclosure-related issues and trends, check out our blog at www.ForeclosurePulse.com.

RealtyTrac (www.realtytrac.com) is the leading online marketplace of foreclosure properties, with more than 1.5 million default, auction and bank-owned listings from over 2,200 U.S. counties, along with detailed property, loan and home sales data. Hosting more than 3 million unique monthly visitors, RealtyTrac provides innovative technology solutions and practical education resources to facilitate buying, selling and investing in real estate.

Cited by thousands of media outlets each quarter — including all the major news networks, leading publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and USA TODAY, RealtyTrac’s foreclosure data also has been used by the Federal Reserve, FBI, U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee and Banking Committee, U.S. Treasury Department, and numerous state housing and banking departments to help evaluate foreclosure trends and address policy issues related to foreclosures.

About RealtyTrac

RealtyTrac® is the leading provider of comprehensive housing data and analytics for the real estate and financial services industries, Federal, state and local governments, academic institutions, and the media. Data is aggregated from parcel-level records of more than 125 million U.S. residential and commercial properties and delivered through customizable products including bulk file licensing, APIs and custom reports.